“We show that in the U.K. and U.S. context, suppression will minimally require a combination of social distancing of the entire population, home isolation of cases and household quarantine of their family members,” noted first author Neil Ferguson and colleagues.

They advised that the major challenge of suppression — at present the only viable strategy — is that it will have to go on until there is a vaccine, possibly for 18 months. “While experience in China and now South Korea shows that suppression is possible in the short term, it remains to be seen whether it is possible long-term, and whether the social and economic costs of the interventions adopted thus far can be reduced.”

In an effort to provide more gear to hard-pressed healthcare providers, White House adviser Peter Navarro announced plans this week to submit an executive order to President Trump that would assist in bringing medical supply chains from overseas to the U.S.

Navarro added that the departments of Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services and Defense buy significant amounts of medical equipment and are currently facing challenges from foreign supply chains due to the increased demand for resources during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We need to have them buy that from American producers on American soil,” he told CNBC.

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